The Last Razorback Picked Was the One Nobody Expected That Late

The 2026 NFL Draft wrapped up Saturday night in Pittsburgh and the final Arkansas Razorback to hear his name called was quarterback Taylen Green.

It was a moment that closed out one of the better weekends the program's had at the draft table in a long time.

Green went 152nd overall, the first pick of the sixth round, to the Cleveland Browns. He wasn't the first Hog off the board Saturday and he wasn't the flashiest pick of the weekend.

But when his name was called, it completed a four-player draft class for Arkansas, the most Razorbacks selected in a single draft since 2016, when five Hogs were chosen.

It was the most players picked by the NFL in a draft since 2016 that probably isn't too surprising considering the record since then is a combined 40-69.

That works out to winning just over a third of your football games. Considering they are on their fourth coach during those nine seasons, it's a revolving door and any recruit looking at the players in the NFL aren't going to put the Hogs high on their list to go to the next level.

That's the hill new coach Ryan Silverfield has to overcome.

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington running against the Texas A&M Aggies at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

Washington Gets Saturday Party Started

Before Green's moment arrived, Mike Washington Jr. kicked off a productive final day for the Hogs when the Las Vegas Raiders grabbed him in the fourth round at pick No. 122.

It marked the first time the Raiders' franchise had selected an Arkansas player since Tyler Wilson in 2013, who also went in the fourth round when the team was still in Oakland.

Washington also ended a drought at his position.

He's the first Razorback running back drafted since David Williams went to the Denver Broncos in the seventh round back in 2018 — eight years between Arkansas backs getting that call.

The Utica, N.Y., native made his one season in Fayetteville count. He ran for 1,070 yards and became just the 16th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark, the first Hog to do it since Raheim Sanders in 2022.

Both the SEC coaches and the Associated Press rewarded him with Second-Team All-SEC honors after he finished fifth in the league in rushing and put together five 100-yard performances.

His two biggest games came in back-to-back weeks that scouts couldn't ignore.

He ran for 131 yards on 19 carries at No. 12 Tennessee before following that up with a career-best 147 yards on just 16 carries against No. 4 Texas A&M the very next week. That's a two-game stretch that puts a running back on NFL radar fast.

Washington took a winding road to get to the draft. He spent three seasons at Buffalo from 2021 to 2023 before heading to New Mexico State for a year before landing at Arkansas.

Across his five-year college career he carried the ball 587 times for 2,914 yards and 26 touchdowns in 51 games.

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive lineman Fernando Carmona running during practice drills — Arkansas Razorbacks offensive lineman Fernando Carmona during drills during preseason practices in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-allHOGS Images

Carmona Gives Tennessee a Razorback Again

Fernando Carmona came off the board next when the Tennessee Titans selected the offensive lineman in the fifth round at pick No. 142.

It's the first time Tennessee's taken a Hog since Treylon Burks went in the first round in 2022.

Carmona earned his draft spot the hard way — by never missing a start.

He played in 49 games and started every single one across his college career, beginning at San Jose State before finishing up in Fayetteville.

That kind of iron-man reliability is something NFL offensive line coaches genuinely value.

He also collected All-SEC hardware twice. The Las Vegas native earned third-team recognition as a left tackle in 2024 then moved to left guard and picked up second-team honors in his final season.

In 2025, he helped the Razorbacks put up 500 or more yards of total offense in six different games. Versatility and consistency — that's a combination that gets linemen drafted.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green on the outdoor practice fields during preseason camp practices in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-allHOGS Images

Green Closes Book on Historic Weekend

And then came Taylen Green.

When Cleveland used the 152nd pick on the Lewisville, Texas, native, it ended a 10-year wait for an Arkansas quarterback to hear his name in the draft.

Green's the first Hog quarterback selected since Brandon Allen went to Jacksonville in the sixth round in 2016.

He's just the 11th Arkansas quarterback ever drafted and only the fourth since 1980 — which tells you how rare this moment really was.

It also made Green the first Razorback the Browns have drafted since 1999, when Cleveland selected Madre Hill.

Green brought a career's worth of production to draft weekend. He started at Boise State from 2021 to 2023 before transferring to Arkansas for two final seasons.

In 53 total college games with 46 starts, he threw for 9,662 yards and 59 touchdowns while adding 2,405 rushing yards and 35 more scores on the ground.

The dual-threat numbers are hard to ignore.

His two seasons with the Hogs were productive enough to put him in the Arkansas record books despite the short stay.

Green's 7,247 combined yards of total offense at Arkansas — 5,868 passing and 1,379 rushing — rank sixth all-time in program history.

Doing that in just two seasons makes it even more impressive.

Cleveland now gets a quarterback who can move and throw and Arkansas can say it's produced another signal-caller at the professional level for the first time in a decade.

Hogs' Pipeline Not Big but Steady

Saturday's three picks joined Julian Neal, who went to the Seattle Seahawks in the third round on Friday, to give Arkansas four total selections across the three-day event.

The Razorbacks have now had at least one player drafted in 31 straight years. They've also had multiple picks in 15 of the last 16 drafts.

Washington went to Las Vegas. Carmona headed to Nashville. Neal landed in Seattle. And Green, the last Hog standing in Pittsburgh, closed it all out going to Cleveland.

Four different players. Four different teams. Four different stories.

One very good draft weekend for Arkansas football.

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